War readiness, Citizen army, Citizenship denial
Last Week in Denmark (01.06-08.06) Episode 22 Year 5
TOP 3 News
Defense spending is to rise to 5% of GDP.
Thousands of former conscripts could be reactivated.
Danish citizenship can be denied despite meeting all rules.
The Last Week in Denmark podcast unpacks the top three news stories of the week through the international lens of two co-hosts. It’s personal, it’s global, it’s Denmark-ish. Listen now: Spotify. Apple Podcasts. YouTube. Amazon Music.
Editor HQ
State of Denmark - Grundlovsdag (Constitution Day) 2025
From calls for spiritual strength to sharp jabs at Trump, Constitution Day speeches this year were a reminder that democracy, both in Denmark and globally, is under pressure. Here’s what each party leader brought to the podium:
🧀 Venstre (Liberals): Stephanie Lose urged us to appreciate what works in Denmark instead of only spotting “holes in the cheese,” while also stressing the need for a strong European defense.
🌍 SF (Socialists): Pia Olsen Dyhr proposed a new global alliance of democracies, saying fewer countries stand up for freedom and the rule of law, and took aim at Trump’s authoritarian drift.
🕊️ Socialdemokratiet (Social Democrats): Mette Frederiksen called for “spiritual mobilization” to strengthen Denmark’s democratic core and made it clear: “Greenland is not for sale.”
💀 Alternativet (Greens): Franciska Rosenkilde declared “America is dead” (with help from a Minds of 99 lyric) and proposed that nature’s rights be written into Denmark’s constitution.
🟦 Liberal Alliance (Liberal Conservative): Alex Vanopslagh joked about the “bourgeois family” (blue parties) but remained serious about his belief in a center-right government after the next election.
🗳️ Moderaterne (Social Liberals): Lars Løkke Rasmussen called for changing the constitution to give Danes abroad the right to vote, noting over 250,000 currently lose that right after two years.
📜 Konservative (Conservatives): Mona Juul warned of “dangerous shifts,” criticizing both “the Quran law” (which bans burning holy texts, including the Bible and Torah) and the PET surveillance bill as undermining Danish liberties.
🇪🇺 Radikale Venstre (Social Liberals): Martin Lidegaard said Denmark’s future no longer lies with the US but with the EU, predicting NATO’s traditional security guarantees will not return.
🧩 Dansk Folkeparti (Nationalist Conservative): Morten Messerschmidt praised Danish unity and warned that Sweden, Germany, and France lack the shared cultural glue that holds Danes together.
🪖 Enhedslisten (Red-Green Alliance): Pelle Dragsted accused the government of hypocrisy, condemning Russia’s war crimes while continuing arms exports to Israel during the Gaza war.
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Images of the week
🪦 Art or animal cruelty? Locals in Hadsund were horrified to find dead rooks (crow-like birds) stapled to wooden crosses at the town’s entrances, feathers intact, displayed as if alive. Police have launched an investigation after public outrage and several reports. A local artist has since claimed responsibility but remains anonymous. While the act may have been intended as art, rooks are a protected species in Denmark, and violations of that protection can lead to fines or even prison.
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Danish Politics HQ
New laws
👶 Adoption under scrutiny and reform. Denmark is launching a full investigation into all international adoptions from 1964 to 2016 to uncover the legal, financial, and social conditions under which they took place and to support adoptees in reclaiming their stories. The government and several parties will invest nearly 70 million DKK in efforts including legal advice, psychological support, and embassy-based help in South Korea, India, Vietnam, and Lebanon. At the same time, a task force will explore how (or if) international adoptions should continue in the future.
☣️ Citizens can now help expose illegal asbestos work. Starting July 1, private individuals can give permission for their videos and photos to be used by the Danish Working Environment Authority in cases involving hazardous conditions, especially illegal asbestos work. A 2023 case where such evidence was blocked due to confidentiality sparked the change. With this new rule, complainants can still choose to remain anonymous, but those who opt in give authorities stronger tools to protect health at work.
Law proposals
📚 No more niqabs or prayer rooms in schools? On Constitution Day, PM Mette Frederiksen announced new steps to limit religious expression in education. She wants to ban the niqab in classrooms and remove prayer rooms from schools and universities, arguing they enable social control and female oppression. The prayer room ban won’t be a law, but ministers will push institutions to comply. The proposals follow recommendations from the “Forgotten Women’s Rights” Commission.
🗳️ Can Danes abroad vote again? Government says maybe. Over 250,000 Danes live abroad, and anyone who lives outside Denmark for more than two years automatically loses the right to vote in national elections. Now the government is setting up a new expert committee to explore whether this rule can be changed without amending the Constitution. The goal is to finish the report by the end of 2025.
Political scene
📉 Government still stuck in the grey zone. A new poll shows Denmark’s ruling coalition, Socialdemokraterne (Social Democrats), Venstre (Liberals), and Moderaterne (Social Liberals), has lost serious ground since the 2022 election, now polling at just 34.6% combined, down from 50.1%. That would give them only 63 seats in Parliament, far from the 89 needed for a majority. While minor bumps have appeared in other polls, the overall voter exodus hasn’t reversed.
Meanwhile, DF (Nationalist Conservative) is making a comeback. The party now polls at 7.6%, nearly triple its 2022 result of 2.6% and a strong jump from 4.4% in May.
🛡️ From budget hawk to defense hawk. Denmark is leaving the EU’s “frugal club” behind. PM Mette Frederiksen says Europe’s top priority must now be rearmament, not saving cents. With war in Ukraine and rising uncertainty about US support under Trump, Frederiksen wants a stronger EU budget focused on defense. As Denmark takes over the EU presidency on July 1, she promises to lead with pragmatism, not penny-pinching. “If we can’t defend ourselves, it’s game over,” she warned.
🇪🇺 Denmark’s EU presidency to focus on Ukraine and unity. From July 1, Denmark takes over the rotating EU presidency, and expectations are high. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised Denmark as pragmatic and consensus-driven, predicting a "results-oriented and successful" term. At a joint press conference, PM Mette Frederiksen made clear that boosting support for Ukraine will be the top priority, calling European security the most urgent issue.
🛡️ NATO agrees on a historic 5% defense plan. NATO defense ministers have agreed on a landmark plan to ramp up military readiness across Europe, including more soldiers, missiles, and air defense. All 32 member states will now commit to reaching 5% of GDP for defense spending: 3.5% for military capabilities and 1.5% for broader security like infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Read more: Could your company be a supplier to the Danish Armed Forces?
Read more: The Danish Home Guard: Yes you can volunteer as an international!
🪖 Denmark plans mass mobilization force. Denmark is preparing to build a new mobilization force made up of thousands of former conscripts, according to a Constitution Day announcement by Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. The idea is to reactivate trained citizens in case of war or crisis, mirroring systems in countries like Finland, where over 870,000 are ready to step in. While details remain under wraps until talks with other parties, the minister made it clear: Denmark needs far more bodies in uniform.
🧠 Romania’s cancelled election is a warning to the rest of us. Romania’s 2024 presidential vote was overturned after a foreign disinformation campaign helped a little-known, pro-Putin candidate surge on TikTok. But the real lesson isn’t about Romania. It’s about how unprepared democracies still are. NATO experts say authorities must react within 24 hours, not after results roll in. Waiting fuels distrust. The attack used AI-generated content, coordinated fake accounts, and paid influencers —tools that are only getting better. Latvia is already setting up an AI lab to simulate how these campaigns work to defend against them.
Danish Economics HQ
Our money
🛡️ Denmark brings back ground-based air defense. For the first time in 20 years, Denmark is reintroducing a ground-based air defense system. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen says the first systems will be ordered next week and ready by 2026.
🏠 ECB cuts rates again in good news for homeowners. One year after starting to lower interest rates, the European Central Bank has now halved its key rate from 4% to 2%. That’s a win for homeowners with variable loans like F-kort and Flexkort, who can expect significant monthly savings. Inflation in the eurozone is now down to 1.9%, hitting the ECB’s 2% target and making further cuts likely.
Starting June 6, Danmarks Nationalbank is lowering its key interest rates by 0.25%, mirroring the European Central Bank’s latest move. The folio rate, deposit rate, and discount rate all drop to 1.60%, while the lending rate is now 1.75%. The rate cut keeps Denmark’s monetary policy aligned with the eurozone, aiming to support stable inflation and economic activity.
State of the markets
♻️ Secondhand goes mainstream. More people are turning to resale platforms like DBA and Vinted. In 2023, 17% of consumers bought secondhand online, up three points from the year before. A new analysis by Dansk Industri shows three types of buyers drive the trend: climate-conscious buyers, budget-focused shoppers, and those who want to stand out. Young people lead the way, but it’s parents with kids at home who buy the most, especially clothing, which tops the resale charts.
🛍️ Not so Danish after all. More webshops are pretending to be Danish while selling cheap, unsafe goods shipped from Asia. The DR show Kontant uncovered online stores with fake addresses, AI-generated shopfronts, and delivery times that don’t match the “local” image. Some even sell flammable lamps or unsafe toys. Experts warn that these drop-shipping sites trick customers with cozy branding and vague terms. Want to avoid getting scammed? Check the CVR number, look up the website on Punktum.dk, reverse image search the products, and never trust reviews on the seller’s site.
Read more: How you can shop European in Denmark
⚽ Owners abroad, local regrets. More Danish football clubs have been sold to investors abroad, only to be bought back by locals after turbulent takeovers. Sønderjyske, Esbjerg fB, Vejle, Næstved, Fremad Amager, and Vendsyssel all experienced dramatic declines or fan backlash under abroad ownership. From unpaid wages to chaotic relegations, promises of growth turned into nightmares. Now AaB is the latest in crisis, with fans clashing with its German owners after another Superliga relegation.
Entrepreneurship
🇪🇺 Startup meets Brussels at TechBBQ’s new Policy Lounge. On August 27, a brand-new Policy Lounge will launch at TechBBQ, bringing together founders, investors, EU policymakers, and curious minds for a full day of open dialogue in English. The event is free and open to all (no TechBBQ ticket needed) as Denmark gears up for the EU Presidency. Sessions aim to ensure EU policy supports startups and doesn't slow them down. Sign up here.
Danish Daily Life HQ
🪖 New conscripts, new rules. From August 2025, Denmark’s military conscription gets a major upgrade: longer service (11 months instead of 4), full gender equality, and more operational duties. All 18-year-olds will be called to Forsvarets Dag (Recruitment Day) and may be selected, even if they didn’t volunteer. Recruits will now work directly with professional soldiers and handle tasks like preparing artillery, guarding military bases, and even helping equip F-35 fighter jets.
🚨 Crisis ready… or not? A new survey shows 60% of the people doubt the state can handle major crises like war, terror, or climate disasters. While Denmark has created a new Ministry for Civil Preparedness and issued crisis guides, experts say a clear, unified emergency plan is still missing. Some citizens are prepping on their own, stocking up food and planning on retreating to a camper in case of collapse.
Read more: Ensure you’re crisis prepared as an international here
🧵 Space tech meets surgery. In a first for Europe, hospitals in Region Midtjylland are testing a reusable surgical gown called the "Multikittel" made from breathable, water-repellent material originally designed for spacesuits. Unlike the single-use gowns tossed after each operation, this one can be washed and reused, potentially saving 244 tons of CO₂ and 30 tons of waste every year. If rolled out nationally, the savings could jump to 1,800 tons of CO₂ and nearly 1,000 tons of waste.
🐶 No more “designer dogs” with health issues. From July 1, Denmark bans breeding dogs with traits that cause serious health problems like breathing difficulties, bad hips, or weak hearts. New rules set age limits for breeding female dogs, cap the number of litters, and require health checks for at-risk breeds like flat-faced or short-skulled dogs. Whether you're a hobby breeder or a kennel owner, all dogs now need a clean bill of health before making puppies.
🧳 Denmark receives few asylum seekers in EU ranking. Denmark ranks near the bottom among EU countries when it comes to the number of asylum seekers per capita, landing in 20th place in 2024. A decade ago, Denmark was among the top five. The government sees this drop as a result of strict immigration and return policies, which other EU countries are now looking to replicate.
International Community HQ
🥇 Fastest but still not Danish. Sylvia Kiberenge won yet another Danish half-marathon championship, but once again, she can’t claim the title. Despite living in Denmark for over a decade, speaking fluent Danish, getting a degree, and working in childcare, she’s still waiting for citizenship. Rules require 3.5 years of full-time work, and she’s only one year in. Sylvia, originally from Kenya, has the national records in her legs but not the red passport in her hand.
🧾 Fulfilled all rules, but still not Danish. A Pakistani man was set to become a Danish citizen next week after meeting every requirement: language, residency, no debt, no crime. But the government now wants to remove him from the citizenship bill over concerns about “anti-democratic views,” allegedly linked to support for sharia law. Critics say the move undermines legal certainty, arguing citizenship shouldn't depend on vague values. The case has sparked debate on whether personal beliefs should block access to citizenship and whether it’s even constitutional to screen people’s opinions.
New reporting
Young people in Denmark are some of the most politically engaged in the world, but how has the country achieved this? Kalpita Bhosale finds out.
The summer vacation is fast approaching, and Gosia Kozlowska has your essential guide to the Danish museums you might not have discovered yet. Perfect for a rainy summer day!
Denmark is rightfully proud of its arts and culture, but where to start as an international? Sudaay Tat Haznedar has brought together ten essential Danish books, films and artists to help you learn more about the country.
There are many organisations promoting events to internationals around belonging. But how can you find the ones that will really make a difference? Sudaay Tat Haznedar writes about why an event with Copenhagen-based events company Ceremonica was moving, meaningful and, most of all, helpful in her own journey.
Our “How to….in Denmark” guides are always popular, helping you navigate life here as an international. Over the past few months, we’ve seen huge traffic to our articles on your tax entitlements in 2025, navigating mental health supports, your property buying rights and all you need to know about securing a mortgage. Find our full series here. Don’t see what you need to know about? Get in touch with us at reporter@lwid.dk.
New columns
Emily Ritchie’s “Little Viking Saga” returns this week, exploring how her Little Viking is settling into Børnehave!
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International media about Denmark
The country where the left (not the far right) made hardline immigration laws (BBC)
It’s not Denmark’s children who can’t handle debating Gaza. It’s our politicians (The Guardian)
Why These New Yorkers’ Favorite Soccer Team Is in Denmark: They Own It. (New York Times)